Cut Copy @ Stubb’s – Austin, TX

March 31st, 2018

Cut Copy (also known as Cut/Copy) started in 2001 but you wouldn’t necessarily know that when their styles and tones bring back the vibes of Fleetwood Mac while adding their Aussie twist onto their unique sound. On a cool spring night at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, TX, Cut Copy filled the already humid-air with warming tones, melodies and the pulse of their deafening bass to a sold-out crowd.

The band originally started with the band’s lead vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist – Dan Whitford – as the sole member, in Melbourne, Australia. Joining Whitford later on, Tim Hoey (guitar), Mitchell Scott (drums) and Ben Browning (bass) have brought the band to new limits and lengths from Whitford’s original DJ project in the early 2000s. With five albums – including their most recent, Haiku from Zero last year – the four Aussies have paving a way for themselves in the electronic-rock-pop mix genre. Look towards Miami Horror for very similar tones.

The music was intense with Hoey behind the Korg sampler and on the strings, creating that 80s and 90s-era warm punch that most of the crowd was too young to reminisce upon. The one big drawback of the night was the stiffness of the band, and while Whitford attempted to loosen up – all four were still relatively tethered to their positions because of the keyboards. Guitars allow for great freedom and flexibility on the stage, and with plenty of room at Stubb’s, it was slightly disheartening to see the lack of real emotions you’d find at a live concert.

What they lacked in motion and emotion they gained in the intensity of the music; their instruments were their voices and carried the intensity very well. The bass, while maybe slightly overzealous on the volume, provided a booming atmosphere for their hit songs like Take Me Over, Living Upside Down and more.

Give their latest album, Haiku from Zero, a listen before you go to their old stuff; you’ll find they changed their style quite a bit from the relatively upbeat and funky style to a more mellow and almost darker tone than their earlier work. It’ll be exciting to see how their new styles are refreshed and molded into 2018 and beyond.